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Companion guide

Spark something powerful

Inspirational new texts and poetry for GCSE English Literature.

Leave Taking by Winsome Pinnock

Leave Taking is a funny and moving play about the lives and relationships of a British Caribbean mother and her two daughters living in North London.

It’s a portrait of three striking women all searching to settle their own sense of identity in very different ways: hard-working mum Enid seeks spiritual guidance from an Obeah woman, studious Viv absorbs herself in her studies, and rebellious Del runs wild.

It’s a drama with layers of conflict at its heart – showing the tensions between two generations; two sisters; the past and the present; individual and society; personal and political.

First produced in 1987 and revived multiple times since, Leave Taking has a timeless quality with the characters’ personal stories continuing to resonate with new audiences today.

Find out more about Winsome Pinnock.

Author question and answer video

What challenges did Winsome Pinnock face when writing Leave Taking? Watch our new video where she reveals this, alongside other questions posed by you.

Leave Taking excerpt

'Oh, I knew all the answers. Pat me on the head and they all come tumbling out, say exactly what the examiners want to hear. But no matter how much I search for myself in them books, I’m never there.'

Viv, page 53

GCSE English Literature

Inspirational new texts and poetry

© Leave Taking by Winsome Pinnock. Nick Hern Books, 2018.

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